Mitsubishi 380 VRX 2006 Review

7-Day Test

When Mitsubishi launched its make-or-break new 380 late last year, there was an undeniable feeling that the Adelaide-based carmaker was keen to throw off the boring car company image.

'Sporty' and 'agile' were words used liberally throughout the two-day media launch and the drive included a timed 400m sprint on a country airstrip and plenty of tight twisty roads on which it aimed to show off the new car's dynamic abilities. For, as the also-ran in the large car segment, its predecessor suffered  from an image problem.

The Magna certainly wasn't a bad car with one of the best V6 engines and handling, especially on the sporty VRX models, that was far from shabby. That said, Mitsubishi was keen to really push the new 380 into an altogether different realm, for on the success or failure of this car the fate of Mitsubishi's Adelaide manufacturing operation rolls.

From a visual perspective, the 380 in its sportiest VRX-form does offer some degree of appeal with decent 17-inch alloys and a mesh front grille, but it is still not the sort of car that is likely to result in passers-by doing a double-take. In fact, in CarPoint's week with the car, the most the 380 could elicit was a couple of half-hearted "what's this?" comments.

Mitsubishi set about making this US market Galant-based car something worth driving, rather than looking at, and that is definitely what it does best.

Under the bonnet, the new 175kW/343Nm 3.8-litre V6 is even a step up on the previous Magna's 3.5 V6, offering a superbly smooth and refined delivery of power. The engine feels strongest between 3000 and 5000rpm but there is no great deficit below that with nice linear acceleration as you depress the right foot.

There is an ever so slight delay in response from the drive-by-wire throttle, but the shift changes (up and down) through the five-speed automatic are very well muted in both feel and audibility. The transmission is Mitsubishi's latest INVECS II Smart Logic with Sports Mode, which, when translated, means it adapts to driving and road conditions and offers the chance to shift gears manually through a tip shift of the gear lever.

The adaptive part of the transmission works very well, so you really only need to resort to locking it into a gear to keep the tacho around 4000 for a particularly appealing bit of country road.

On the freeway the 380 cruises in comfort with the engine ticking over at around 1800rpm (100kmh). There's barely a sound that penetrates the very quiet cabin on most surfaces. A bit of road noise from coarse chip surfaces is all that intrudes on the tunes from excellent six-stack CD player.

Constant speed cruising also delivered much better fuel economy too with the round town average figure (according to the car's computer) of 15.5lt/100km dropping down to 13.8lt/100km over the course of our 250km jaunt beyond the urban fringe of Melbourne.

But cruising the freeway is hardly going to test the car's sporting intent and so it was onto the B-roads where the 380 did, in no uncertain terms, provide the evidence to backup the Mitsubishi marketing hype.

As you push hard into a corner, the car sits down and turns-in precisely according to the driver directions. There is little body, it feels very planted on the road with plenty of grip from the 215/55 Dunlop Sports, and the chassis feels well balanced and solid providing the confidence to push on that little bit harder.

The steering offers good feedback and is direct and well weighted although there is a little kickback over rough tarmac.

There is, however a small price to pay for the sporty suspension setup of the VRX and its associated benefits in the dynamics department, and that is in the ride quality.

On smooth freeway it is noticeably firm but still comfortable, however, head off on uneven country roads and there is a degree of lumpiness about the ride quality. It is reasonably compliant over short sharp ruts, soaking up the worst and while it is not exactly uncomfortable over bigger bumps, you certainly feel them through the base of the seat and as the body moves around a bit.

The seats themselves offer quite good comfort and support although in the VRX 'sports' model, they could do with more lateral support.

There is, as expected, plenty of room inside and even in the rear, legroom is good although you probably wouldn't want to be too tall sitting in the rear.

The boot is a good size for a large local sedan but a preference for increased body rigidity means there is no split-fold seat back with only a central ski-port allowing longer items to be pushed through to the cabin.

Like the exterior, the interior is inoffensive yet hardly inspiring with big slabs of dark, grained plastic across the dash. Equipment levels in the VRX run to climate and cruise control, six-stack MP3 compatible CD audio, power windows, mirrors and six-way driver's seat, traction control, ABS and dual front and front side airbags. Storage space in the centre console is reasonable but the door bins are very narrow.

With the 380, Mitsubishi has delivered on its promise of a car that is sporty and agile, now it just needs to convince the buyers in that market that that is what they want.